The River Named Time
by Seraph of Winters Past
Summary: Hitokiri Battousai was assigned to assassinate a drug lord during the revolution... but the concequences ultimately result in past and present colliding, and Kenshin must take on an apprentice. Rurouni KenshinYYH crossover.
1. Prologue Part 1: Assignment

I own none of the Rurouni Kenshin characters (neither do I own the YYH characters, who will come in later on), they are all property of Nobuhiro Watsuki (as for the YYH characters, they're owned by Yashihiro Togashi), and they are copyrighted by Shonen Jump Manga. The real-life characters, however, are up for interpretation, and I may use them whenever and however I want, albeit the other fans don't try to bite my head off for using them… (e tu, Saitou, Hijikata, Katsura, and Okita...?).

This is a re-write of my older story – Overlooked Witnesses. The only thing it has in common with that story is that the casts of both series are used… I am going to use as few original characters for this as I can, but the villain HAS to be an original character, so there you go right there… there's also all the extras, and I don't know the names of any of the bystanders from the show, so they're all going to belong to me as well. (sighs) why must I do all the hard work…? At least I don't have to draw it all… you'd NEVER see this thing finished. Aren't YOU lucky?

…I'll end my rambling now; enjoy the story!

**:Kyoto, Japan:  
****:July 31st, 1864:  
****: 4:18AM :**

But a single candle lit the room… this cellar of the Padowa Inn. In this room, two men (were they men?) stood by a table, upon which the candle was lit. So dim was the candle that the men's faces could not be seen, but their dark blue haori jackets and callused hands were the only hints as to their identities. Across the table was a set of papers, written on in fine handwriting, almost mechanical, even.

These men were Samurai, their badges of honor hanging from their hips; a katana and a wakizashi each. It was evident that these men were not the typical soldiers… a normal soldier does not hush up in a basement and scurry over a set of papers… no, these men were spies, not ninja, not assassins, but specialized spies.

"This information is definite, then?" The thicker handed of the two asked.

"Hai." Was the response of the thinner wristed man.

The first man punched his left hand into his right hand, "If this is true, then we can severely hurt the Wolves of Mibu…"

"That would be very, very helpful to us…" the second said.

"Indeed… if they lose all of it, the lack of proceeds will surely lead to a collapse… they can't fund their activities if there is nothing to fund them _with_…"

"Who can we use for an assignment like this?"

"The new Hitokiri, whatever his name is (damn Katsura for not telling me what his name is), is too hushed in red tape for us to use him… and as for the man called Kurogasa, he cannot be trusted… and if the Shinsengumi is hit by an assassin they never heard about…"

"It would be better if we suggest Himura do it…" the thinner man said.

The first man spoke, "I don't trust either of those other two Hitokiri… both of them can easily be persuaded to join or rejoin the Shinsengumi with the proper leverage… that man with the grin whose jaw touches the ground, or that man with the parlor trick of a sword…"

" That is very true… if it is known that the Battousai does this, it might strike some fear into them, that Hitokiri Battousai hasn't lost his edge, and not even the financial backers of the Shinsengumi are safe from him… and not just the swordsmen are at risk…"

"And this strike would further weaken those ghastly wolves' jaws, that they might break with enough pressure…"

"Quiet, Yuuzai! I hear someone coming!"

"Hurry! The innkeeper may come down here! We must leave before he does so!"

And with that, a quick pinch of the hand, and the candle flame was exterminated.

**:Kyoto, Japan:  
****:July 31st, 1866:  
****: 1:35PM :**

If ever a place could smell purely of blood, it would be this place; the streets of Kyoto. For years now, there has been a war here, a war between the conservative Tokugawa Shogunate and its supports, the Shinsengumi, and their imperialist foes, the Ishin Shishi, who backed the Emperor's return to power. Several other groups of warriors would take part in this struggle, but none were as prominent as the Ishin Shishi and the Shinsengumi.

Both factions had a number of renowned, powerful warriors, but the most prominent seldom let the sun light touch their faces, for they strike at night, as the greatest of predators do. They attack from the shadows, when their foes believe themselves safe (and to their dismay, find themselves quite the opposite). They are the Hitokiri, the manslayers of the Ishin Shishi, and among them was the one warrior who was feared by all, save the captains of the first three of the Shinsengumi squads.

Hitokiri Battousai, Himura Kenshin.

Although, seeing this young man (not even twenty yet) in person, one would not believe him to be the Battousai. Slight in frame and small in stature, he would constantly be mistaken for a child. However, all who have seen him unsheathe the katana at his side knew why he earned the name Battousai, he who has mastered every concept of sword drawing… deadliness with grace.

With his ken-ki lowered, he remained invisible to the sixth senses of the Shinsengumi who sought his death, even in this street crowded with civilians, mingled with the Mibu Wolves. Thescar on the left side of his fifteen year old face and the dark blue gi he wore were practically screaming his identity as the Patriot Hitokiri, but the farmer's hat he wore concealed his flaming red hair, and to anyone walking by, appear as nothing but a small man in blue conducting his business. Besides... no one had caught a good enough look of his head to identify him by it... just just saw a flash of red...

Of course, they would have to be blind to miss the two swords at his side.

The temperature was mild, despite the fact that the hottest month of the year was just a day away. This could be attributed to the fact that the sun did not bathe the streets in its radiance, but instead was concealed behind gray clouds, slowly but surely morphing to black thunderheads. As if for a day, the sky mocked those in the beneath it – dark and dreary.

Kenshin turned off the crowded street, and into a small teahouse, one which seemed to be chosen indiscriminately and randomly. So small and unattractive was this teahouse that Kenshin was not surprised to find that besides a woman near a doorway in the rear of the building (which possibly led to a kitchen, explaining her role here), the building contained not a single soul. The assassin observed the room; creaky wood floors, one front exit, and five small tables. Without even realizing it, he began to map out how he would use the building's structure to defend himself and escape, should the Shinsengumi raid.

He sighed, and shook his head slowly. He wasn't there to fight… just to meet someone. Kenshin walked towards the back of the room, and greeted the woman standing at the doorway.

"Konichiwa," the Hitokiri greeted, emotion devoid from his features.

"Konichiwa…" the woman replied. "I am sorry, but we do not allow swords in this restaurant, even for samurai. I would have to insist that you either leave, or disarm yourself."

"I am sorry, but I cannot do that," Kenshin stated.

"Cannot do what?" she inquired, her hand moving behind the bead-strings over the door.

"I cannot disarm, and I cannot leave," was the reply.

"If you do not leave, I will have no choice but to call for help…" the woman warned.

"I am looking for Katsura-sempai," Kenshin interjected.

The woman looked at him for a few moments, her eyes widened in surprise, before asking, "Are you Himura-san?"

"Hai," Kenshin responded.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" the woman sighed. She removed her hand from behind the door, and Kenshin took note that something was in her hand. Small, made of wood… a sheathed tanto. Of course… she had taken the Samurai to be a threat, and hoped to catch him off guard. Not that she would be successful, but that was her intent.

"I did not ask because were I to announce my name in front of a woman possibly aligned with the Shogunate, it would raise Hell. And though you present no harm, I would greatly appreciate it if you would hide the tanto.

"Of course…" the woman said, rolling her eyes. "I did not know that Hitokiri Battousai was the size of a child."

"I will pretend that I did not hear that," Kenshin said, keeping his poker face, yet allowing an annoyed voice of warning escape him.

"Hah…" the woman chuckled, "My name is Hikari. Follow me, Kondo-sempai is through here."

Kenshin followed after the woman as she turned through the doorway. His eyes narrowed as he entered a small hallway in an effort to protect his eyes from the sudden change to bright light, for a large number of lanterns were hung, and this made it tremendously bright in comparison to the darkening skies he was accustomed to. A short distance later (perhaps ten feet), the woman stopped, and stepped in front of a closed, paper door (the traditional Japanese door).

"He's here," she said quietly. Hikari bowed slightly to Kenshin, and continued back towards the room they had just come from. The door slid open, and a gruff (yet quiet) voice simply said, "Enter."

The Hitokiri stepped into the room, but not before removing the katana from his obi and placing it against the wall as tradition demands. Kenshin looked around, seeing none other than the Ishin Shishi leader, Katsura Kogoro, kneeling on a tatama mat. As Kenshin stepped through the door, someone closed the door behind him. His eyes gaining a slight golden tint, Kenshin saw the man's sword was sheathed; he posed no threat. Though the man was above the average height (making a silent blow to the neck out of the question, but leaving him open for a horizontal slash across the belly…), he did not appear hostile… perhaps he was Katsura's new right-hand man (since Katagai had been murdered). Kenshin tried to calm himself down, but yet again, his instincts took over. The walls were made of rice paper… he'd be able to hear anyone snooping around from a great distance, and the intruders would be silhouetted on the walls. Assuming an attacker came in from the door, in mass numbers, he would be able to make a hole in the walls, fend off the attackers until Kondo made his escape, and he'd follow soon after.

Kenshin shook his head and sighed. Damn Hitokiri…

"Are you alright, Kenshin?" Katsura asked.

"Hai…" Kenshin replied.

"Be seated. Would you care for some sake?"

"No… I only have come for my assignment, and I intend to leave as soon as I have it. Iwajimo's message said you had need of me, and that is my only duty here. I am a swordsman, not a guest," Kenshin replied, emotionless as ever.

Katsura sighed, and spoke "Sake can relieve your anxiety. I noticed you were studying the room when you entered, and maybe you shou-…"

"Damn it, Katsura-sama, the boy wants out of here, just tell him what he needs to know so he can be done with it," the guard said.

"Yes, of course," Katsura muttered. The founder of the Ishin closed his eyes and nodded. "First of all, I thank you for coming on such short notice. Two of our spies intercepted a message between the Shinsengumi and one of their chief backers this morning, and we needed to work quickly so this moment will not go to waste. If we are to succeed in this, we could wound the Miburos financially, and coul-…"

"The content, not the whole speech," Kenshin intruded.

"Don't be so snappy around Katsura-sama, you indignant whelp," the guard warned.

"He's right, Ikuza…" Katsura said, "I'll remove the flowery language…"

"Arigatou," Kenshin mumbled.

"The message that the spies found… let's just say it is very helpful to us. The message was a packet of papers, containing details on a shipment of money tonight between the Shinsengumi and its largest financial backer, second only to the Shogunate itself. The backer is an opium dealer; Takeda Senjukuu… tomorrow, at three in the morning, Takeda is going to make a trade with the Shinsengumi. He is paying them an enormous sum of money, and they are agreeing to provide his son with a Gatling Gun, and also not to kill the two of them off for dealing opium. If Takeda were to be eliminated before the transaction were to take place, it would cripple the Shinsengumi financially."

"When you say 'an enormous sum of money,' how much do you mean?" Kenshin asked.

"Do you know how much money we receive from the Emperor to pay for the Ishin Shishi?" Katsura asked.

"No, but I imagine it is a very large amount of money."

Katsura looked intently at Kenshin, and with two words, caused the Hitokiri's rock-hard expression to nearly drop off his face. "Double it."

"Oro…" Kenshin sighed, and then murmured quietly "… that is a big sum of money… _that it is_…"

"What was that, Kenshin?" Katsura asked.

"Gomen… it was nothing," Kenshin apologized.

"You have changed your manner of speech, however little," Katsura noted, "Could it be that you plan to change even your voice when the war is over?"

"I have _not_ noticed," Kenshin replied impatiently, "Please return to the subject at hand."

"Right…" Katsura muttered. He then thought to himself, 'You can try to go off the topic just a little with him, but he can never relax enough to see it's better that he change…' Katsura then continued, "As I said, the transaction will take place early in the morning, next morning. If Takeda is to die before this transaction takes place, the meeting will fall apart, and the partnership will fall apart. Do you see where this is going?"

"Hai… but I am not an assassin anymore. I left my status as the Hitokiri in the dark," Kenshin began, "Why not assign Shishio Makoto? Or Kurogasa?"

"Frankly, I do not trust either of those men… in addition, Shishio would go crazy with his flaming sword and blow up the whole building for the Hell of it, while Kurogasa would announce his presence at the gates, and then proceed to kill every single guard in sight so he could fulfill his lust for blood. Of all the assassins under my service, you, Kenshin, are the most reliable, and the one who stays least visible in the shadows."

"I see…" Kenshin said.

"The details of this assignment are being worked out as we speak… I do not have the materials with me as of this moment, but I have arranged all the details to be given to you at a drop point just outside of Aoiya Inn… you know of the drop-off point, I am sure… report there between 4 and 4:15 this afternoon, and await the drop off… a man in a black outfit with a farmer's hat will stop for a short amount of time next to the bonsai tree out front, remove his hat, run his hand through his hair, and then walk east. That is the signal that the documents have been delivered."

"Understood," Kenshin confirmed.

"Once you get the package, find a secluded area on the rooftops, and read the papers inside – they contain information on this assignment, and the timeframe the mission is to be completed. Do you understand?" Katsura asked.

"Why ask questions to which you already know the answers, Katsura-sempai," Kenshin said.

"Please, spare me the formalities, and just call me Katsura… you have known me for three years, and don't you find it unnecessary to add the sempai?"

"No… If you will excuse me, I will begin heading for the drop off," Kenshin finished. The two patriots stood up simultaneously, bowed to each other, and the Hitokiri walked towards the door. Ikuza slid the door open, and Kenshin exited. Just when Kenshin had picked up his katana and began to walk back down the hall, Ikuza slid the door shut again.

"I cannot stand that boy…" the guard said.

"Deal with it, Ikuza, he is the best warrior we have… and he hardly deserves to be called just a boy."

"As long as he's that short, I will call him a boy."

"As long as you continue calling him short, and continue shooting glares into the back of his head, you will continue to leave your neck on the line."

"I can't HELP but glare at him… there is something about him that annoys me to Hell and back."

"That is because he was raising his ki… and he didn't raise it until you started glaring. I saw you the whole time."

"BAH…" Ikuza scoffed, crossing his arms and looking away.

Katsura sighed, and took a sip of his sake. As he did so, he thought, 'It is **so** difficult to get an intelligent assistant nowadays…'

_To be continued…_

Thank you for your time and attention. At 7 pages (8, if you include the author notes…), this chapter is pretty short… don't worry, the later chapters will be getting a lot longer. If you look at my story Shadow Detective, you'll know that that's not a promise – it's a FACT. I humbly ask of you for your reviews on this… you may not know it, but getting reviews is the highlight of ANY author on this site…

Oh yes… a little fact about me… as much of a contradiction as it is, there's something you should know about the author – I'm a guy. Yes, a rarity among itself, ne? So, if at times, this thing tends to be saturated with blood guts and gore, I apologize, it's the masculine part of me writing at the time…

… that said, do you see the little button at the bottom? The one that says "go"…? Please click it…


	2. Prologue Part 2: Mission

Wow… it's been a while since I updated this story, hasn't it? Sorry about that… I was getting caught up in all my other stories, school was hot on my heels and biting me in the ass, and… stuff. A couple months ago, someone reviewed this story and said that he guessed I was never going to update again… once again, I apologize that it looked that way…

Plain and simple… I lost inspiration for this story. I knew how it was going to end, and I knew the next few chapters. However, I hit a snag – I lost the inspiration to actually write the story (that, and a certain cat of mine keeps jumping up on the desk as I'm trying to write, and he breaks my train of thought). So… the story dropped out of the lime-light… However, whenever I'm doing something that's completely a bore – mowing the yard, sitting in the car, going to church (I'm not exactly the most **_religious_** person you're going to ever meet… if you can _call_ me religious), or anything else like that, my mind starts to wander, and I start to think on my stories.

Thursday evening, I was mowing the yard, letting my mind wander, and BAM – I got an idea… exactly what this idea is, you're not going to know right now, but believe me – you **will** in time. However, it inspired me to update this story, and take it out of the limbo I left it in. I'm changing around almost EVERYTHING this story was originally going to be, but in the end, I think it'll be an improvement…

A little warning to all of you before I begin… get a site open with the list of Kenshin's techniques… I'm not going to describe each one of them, and I'm just going to say the name. Off hand, I can't remember any sites that tell them, but if you go under a yahoo image search, you'll probably find one without much difficulty. So, if you don't know what the Do Ryu Sen is, I'm not telling… I'm just saying that it happened (if it happens).

Anyways, I'll get the disclaimer out of the way… I don't own Rurouni Kenshin – it's property of Shounen Jump Manga and Nobuhiro Watsuki – the distributors and the creator. The Shinsengumi was a real group of people, and since the last member died a hundred years or so ago, NOBODY owns them. So, without further ado…

**:The River Called Time:  
****:Chapter One:  
****:Mission:**

**

* * *

**

**:Kyoto, Japan:  
****:Mansion no Takeda:  
****:July 31st, 1864:  
****:9:28 PM:**

I am a servant of Takeda Senjukuu… I am indeed in his service. This is my first day in his service, and until now, I have not known my name – I have been Nanashi for the last fifteen years, and now that I am Takeda-sama's servant, I am Minamino (servants and slaves are given no family names in these times). Before today, Takeda-sama has had no need for another servant, but earlier today, his most faithful servant went missing – this is why I have been purchased.

After I was given a tour of the house, my first command was to prepare the house for guests – guests which I was not told the identities of, but I guessed they were of a most prestigious manner. I was to sweep the floors and wash them until they shined like mirrors, and try not to mind Takeda-sama's presence… after being in the service of three masters over the course of my life, it was the most impossible to deal with this man… he had a presence about him that I found intoxicatingly putrid… and in all my years of cleaning, this man was the worst.

Whatever assistance he had hired or bought in the past, it was of poor, hasty quality. Not all the scraping and washing in the world could remove some of the stains and marks left on the hard wood floor… one would be liable to slip on these floors, and knock their head against the wall. These walls in this, the waiting room, are made of hard wood, not rise paper… you would be liable to have your senses knocked out of you if you were to hit your head against these walls… I had seen one man split his head open on a wall, he fell so hard, under my old master…

I found that this problem could easily be countered if one were to keep their sandals on their feet, and not remove them – however, as is custom in Nippon, one removes their sandals inside of doors… if I remember, I shall tell Takeda-sama of this, especially since I will be getting the floor wet when I clean it…

I have also noticed that this mansion has been constructed on a rather peculiar concept… some walls of this place are made of wood, and others of rice paper… rather, all doors are made of rice paper, but the walls are not… if I am to grow reckless, and I am asked to clean the walls, I might accidentally puncture a door, where I would undoubtedly fall upon some valuable object beyond – a vase from the mainland, or another piece of furniture, perhaps.

I sweep the floors in the waiting room and the meeting room, and I make sure that not a single speck of dust is left behind… I let my work allow me to investigate my new work area, for however long I am to live here… I acquaint myself with every nook and cranny, as knowing all the details will make all my work easier and swifter. Cleaning up is not a satisfying job, but it has its advantages… I get to meet interesting people from time to time, though they pass out of my life too quick to be of any significant value to me… my masters tell me that the person I must meet is important, I should meet them, and it would make my masters happy for this to happen. Then, all to quickly, they leave… without my masters' permission, I often take a memento from them, all those my masters wish me to meet. They never care, and they never notice – and even if they did notice, they still wouldn't care… they never have, and they haven't stayed angry long enough to matter. My masters have always approved.

I do not know about this master… he might find this _habit_ unorthodox and improper… not that it would stop me from doing so, but to each his own…

It is a mere half hour or so before Takeda-sama's guests are due to arrive… all refreshments have been set by the slaves working the kitchen, and they've retired to their cots for the night… I wouldn't trust those cots if my life depended on it… I've seen what kind of spiders live in that room, and I'd prefer sitting on the roof. They're asleep right now, so they won't have to deal with all the noise that inevitably will come from here… I hate social gatherings… I meet some interesting people, but I hate social gatherings… of course, since they're asleep, that means I'll have to serve the sake and everything else…

As I finish cleaning up in the meeting room, I put my sandals and bag just outside the doorway. I have a feeling that I'll be needing them in a moment, one way or another.

I sense him coming ten seconds before he even enters the room… that putrefying stench comes before him like lightning before the thunder. I finish sweeping this part of the room, drop the broom where I am, and turn to face him as he enters from the adjacent room. The less said about his appearance, the better… suffice to say that he has teeth like a rabbit, glasses with points, and his head isn't much above mine… he also smells of sex, which I attribute to a brothel… and I try not to think of it.

"Slave, is the room ready?" like nails on the chalkboard… it never fails…

"Hai, Takeda-sama. Sessha has just finished sweeping this room." I respond, speaking in the polite manner of a slave.

A suspicious look comes to his face, and I notice his sandals have been removed, "Hadn't I told you to sweep _and_ wash the floor?"

"Sessha already has. Sessha dropped a bag of sugar and spilled it on the floor… Sessha was just sweeping it up."

"A bag of sugar?" he demanded, "The _last_ bag of sugar?"

"The last bag of sugar. Sessha noticed that the bag in the kitchen was empty, so he went to get some more. But, Sessha slipped on the wet floor, and he spilled the sugar on it. Sessha was cleaning up his mess."

"Baka!" he cursed, "That was to be served with the sake! Saitou-san prefers it with his sake, and he told me at the last meeting that Okita-san would, too!"

"Why does Takeda-sama not just serve sake without sugar? Surely, Takeda-sama's guests would not mind?"

"Ai! Ai! Slave, you do not KNOW Saitou-san as I do! When he is drunk and displeased, he goes absolutely APE! You tell me to displease the Third Captain of the Shinsengumi! I would run myself on my sword before he does so to me!"

"Takeda-sama entertains the Shinsengumi?"

"Insolent slave!" he addressed me, "It is not your place to question your master! If you speak a word of this to anyone, your body will never be _found_! Do I make myself **clear?**"

"Hai, Takeda-sama."

"Good… I have a task for you, then… slave…" he commanded, "First of all, have you the faintest how much sugar costs?"

"Hai – Izumi told Sessha before… Izumi told Sessha that sugar costs five yen per pound."

"That's outrageous!" he bellowed, "Ai! They charge that much for **sugar?**"

"That is the truth."

"Here… take ten yen…" he said after cursing some more, slipping the notes out from his pocket and into my hand. I put them in the pocket in the inside of my gi. "Slave, do you know Banzai's Shop?"

"Sessha knows Banzai's Shop."

"Ask the woman who works there to give you two pounds worth, and to give you the discount because one of Takeda Senjukuu's slaves was a foolish **dullard**, and he has guests that are due shortly! Ai! How much more time do I have?"

And the alibi is set…

"When last Sessha looked, it was twenty of ten."

"Kisama!" he cursed, "How fast can you run?"

"Sessha can run very fast."

"How long would it take you to run there and back?"

"Sessha does not know how far Takeda-sama's home is from the shop. But Sessha knows that he can arrive very fast, that he does."

"Get to it, then!" I bow, and turn to leave. My sandals were left just on the other side of the doorway. I hear him sniff the air, and I imagine him wrinkling his nose.

"Slave! What is that **smell?**"

For a moment, I actually thought that he meant the smells he was giving off… the kind that intoxicated me when he was near, and almost made me vomit. Then, I realized that he meant the _other_ smell. I'm rather surprised that it took him that long to smell it. And so, I replied, "When Sessha arrived earlier, he found something on the floor… he did not know what to do with it, so he put it in the closet until Takeda-sama had more time, and could tell him what to do with it!"

"What _kind_ of 'something'?"

"Sessha does not know what Takeda-sama will think of it. Perhaps Takeda-sama would prefer to look at it himself?" I hear his sandal-less feet tapping against the ground as he walks toward the closet. As he does so, I walk to the other side of the doorway.

As he opens the closet door, I put my sandals back on.

"Ai! Ai! Mattsu! Shimatta! SHIMATTA!"

By now, the slave's blood had already congealed, and it wasn't going to spill out on the floor. So, when Takeda opened the door, the boy's body fell at his feet, but no blood. Flies had already infested the body, and maggots were starting to form in all the spots that were still warm. I knew what he saw… the boy's throat was slit open, and the bruises from strong, slim fingers remained on his cheeks, while his lips were split where the palm of the murderer's hand pressed against them.

On his chest, I remembered, there was a note pinned with a spike… it's been a while since I read the note, but as I remember, the note read:

_Takeda Senjukuu,  
__Heaven's justice will sing tonight. Blackmail keeps mouths silent for a while, but threats keep them silent forever. Speak of this to no one, and accept no guests tonight. Accept guests tonight and speak openly of this, and the Buddha will judge you.  
__Good night, and pray that you do not meet us._

_-Ishin Shishi_

It wasn't until I was hired that I learned his name… but, since it's inconsequential now, I forgot it already. Takeda-sama screamed in shock and anger… I, of course, having seen this many times before, gave no apparent reaction.

"**AI! What happened? AI! AI! WHAT HAPPENED HERE? AI!**"

Usually, I don't stick around to hear witnesses ask those kinds of things, but when I do, it's more of them merely asking where the assassin went to… and he obviously isn't reading the note. That is when I begin the final step.

"Koro shite yaru, Takeda-sama."

He didn't believe me, and so he replied, "Usotsuki! You're just a _slave_, **usotsuki!** **Who did this?**"

Denial is the most predictable of human responses. He truly doesn't believe, though… I wasn't presented to him until after I stuck the servant in the closet. The squirmy ahou almost saw it coming… I remain silent in response, and he lets a few things that might pass as thoughts sink into the wet sponge that might pass as a brain…

"Bah! You wouldn't know! I've bought a delusional slave! When I find the man who did this, I'll repay him ten-fold and have his ass WHIPPED!"

When I drew my sword (which lay hidden underneath the folds of the hakama) he began to believe me. I decide to take him up on his promise with a challenge, "Kocha koi."

"_What_ did you say?" his voice is strained… a bit of fear and realization… for the few times when I let my victims know I'm there, I get that a lot. That one incident a few months ago gave me a nasty cut on the cheek…

"You heard, Takeda-yaoi. Now that you know who the man is, it is up to you to fulfill the promise. I humbly replied in kind – it is not often that I give my target the chance to question me."

He grunts in rage, and I see him get angry in the eyes. The clumsy, hurried steps he takes to the mantelpiece to grab the family's sword lets me in on how easy this will be… I could have dealt five slashes to him in that amount of time. I have to make this look good… there is only a finite supply of blood in his body, and I have to splatter it in just enough places to look convincing… I want this to look like the building was stormed by a group of men, and not just one assassin… I'll give him a minute to live, and let his fat carcass destroy the rest as he resists.

He finally grabs the sword, and he turns the long way to face me… unless you're back-handing a sword-draw attack, you _never_ do that, especially if your foe has the sword ready and is unfazed. He flings the scabbard away, and he puts the sword up in what I can only imagine to be a mockery of the Hiratzuki. Exactly _why_ the Shinsengumi even drew their swords and let him see the attack is beyond me, but one thing is apparent – he's no Okita.

"**KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!**" I time the seconds and count the steps, though it isn't necessary… it's a pity that I'm wearing the sandals, and he's still in just his socks… Three seconds to cross fourteen feet… too slow. Against a normal Shinsengumi, I would have to actually take a few steps aside to avoid the inevitable side-swipe, but his reaction time is so slow, I only need to take one, and I let the slippery floors and his momentum do the rest.

**HR-THUDD!**

He falls headlong into the wall, and I hear his grunt and yelp, as well as his careless ripping the sword out of the wall. A few feet to the side, and he would have gone through a rice-paper wall… I wouldn't have had it any other way, because of his recklessness, he bent the sword so much that no power on Earth could get it to fit in the scabbard again. The indent on the wall is barely perceptible, but the small spatter of blood from his nose makes it palpable.

He takes his sweet time in recovering… one fall and he's already out of breath – he exhales harshly through pursed lips to get the dripping blood off his lips. I turn around slow enough for him to regain his breath a little, and when he raises his sword a little to prepare, I close the distance again, but not so quickly.

He swings that crooked sword faster than someone with his inexperience should… not that it matters to me, because it misses for a mile when I duck under it. He almost drops the sword, and he almost loses his balance, wheeling around halfway… the idiot set himself up for a Hi Ryu Sen… and at this close a range, when I send the hilt flying at him, he's going to feel it like a sledge hammer…

I don't hear the impact, but I feel it, and I also feel him go flying through the rice-paper door. It rips, and I hear him slam his head against the expensive vase from the mainland, and both he and the vase come crashing to the ground at the same time. The difference is that one breaks, the other one grunts… I only feel sorry for the vase. By the time he opens his eyes again, I have the sword back in my hand, and I start moving towards him – by now, I'm sure that he's feeling the gold in my eyes – the sword never scares them, it's always the eyes. He makes a big commotion, and he gets to his feet to try running… if he tried it earlier, he might not have forgotten the broom I left on the floor.

Hwoomp! **THUDD!**

The broom goes flying, and he hits his face on the floor with a thud. By the time he gets to his feet, I stand a mere few paces away… and before he catches his breath, he swings that sword of his again… not that I'm worried, of course. I spin around, putting my back to his side, and I start to swing my own sword. By the time he realizes that his sword hit nothing but air, I'm behind him, and the Ryu Kan Sen is homing in on the space right between the solar blades.

The blood hits the air, and I hear the buzzing of fly wings, already attracted to Takeda… a house fly can arrive at a dead body from a mile away in less than a minute and a half, and the more blood that's been spilt, the more of them arrive. Takeda isn't dead yet, but there are a lot of flies around, and I've made him spill a considerable (though moderate) dosage of blood. The slash makes it look like he was attacked while running away, and odd-shaped puddle on the ground tells that he landed back-first.

It's hard to believe, but he smells worse on the inside than he does on the outside. What's worse, he's getting the smell all around – the metallic smell of blood dripping everywhere, and unfortunately, from my sword… I'll polish and disinfect it later, shit smells better than this. As he scrabbles away slowly, I speed him up with a little provocation… his hearing isn't sophisticated enough to feel this in its full force, but oh well… he'll get the idea…

I put the sword's tip just inside the sheath, and I start walking closer… when the first fly starts to bite me, I slam the sword full-force into the sheathe…

**CHING!**

The dead flies all drop to the ground like little beads, and Takeda drops the sword to cover his ears and scream. If it weren't for my _own_ training, I would also be succumbing to the Ryuumesen's effects… thankfully for me, I had a good master. A bit crazy, but a good master.

I've let this fight continue for eight and thirty seconds. He only gets twenty two more seconds left to live… I don't have enough damage yet to make it look like a group-attack. Time to make up for it.

I grab him square by the right shoulder, and I pull him to his feet. He holds one of his hands out in a signal to yield. I, of course, ignore it, and with one jerk of my sword-hand, I send it flying. He recoils back and clutches the stump of his arm, screaming like a mother giving birth. The key difference is, I'm _taking_ his life, and he's not giving life to anything (except, of course, to me, by force, and then to lies and the media). I flick the sword, and send the blood on its surface flying across the room, splattering against the wall.

The man is obviously petrified now, and he's running out of seconds (he's down to fifteen)… that's when he decides to run himself. That's all to my liking… I need to contaminate more of the house… and I might as well give him an incentive to do so.

Hh-CHING! CHAKK! CHAKK! KR-UNCH!

I start slashing like mad, letting the sword destroy anything that comes near it, just like it would if he were being chased through the house by a bunch of Imperialist mercenaries. Ten seconds later, and an untold number of destroyed items later, I end the chase.

I leapt through the air, sword to my side, and aimed it at his neck…

"Kuso shinezo."

… and liberated his head from it.

Without a sense of balance, and a considerable amount of momentum, the body stumbles to the ground, rolls a little, and twitches a few times before the head hits. For a brief few seconds, the blood spurts all over the place, but as it loses more blood, it starts slowing down. I look to the clock above the mantelpiece through the doorway… 9:45 PM… his guests will be arriving within the next fifteen minutes. I have to leave the note, I have to wash my hands off, I have to change my clothes…

…and I have to buy the sugar.

The slaves are away in their cots, and in the two minutes that have elapsed since the screaming began, there hasn't been enough time for them to come running yet, and besides… from what I've asked them before, Takeda-sama tends to act crazy sometimes, especially if he had alcohol. They'll blame the screaming on that, most likely… especially if they ration that his guests arrived early, and they were served their drinks early. Saitou has, and always shall be, a party animal when drunk… one with a tendency toward murder, but a party animal nonetheless… They'll blame it on that, that they will. They won't after they get questioned, though… but, until then, they'll stay ignorant.

I pull the gi off (taking, of course, the ten yen out of the pocket inside), throw on another one from the bag I brought with me, and put the farmer's hat on to keep others from looking in my face for long. I also pull out a piece of paper with a note on it… I'd almost forgotten it… one last time, I take a look at it:

_Takeda,  
__You did not heed our warning. Heaven's Justice has been delivered tonight. The servants of the Shogun will fail, and those who back them will die in our new order. Deliver this message with your corpse. _

_-Ishin Shishi_

As I tag the message to the corpse, I wipe away the blood and sweat from my head, and my hands next. Lastly, I wipe the blood from my sword, and I hide it under the folds of the hakama. Keeping with my little _tradition_, I take a momento from the scene… I'll probably forget it after a while, but I'll have something to remember the mission by for a while.

I choose a hand-mirror that looks like it's almost glowing in the moonlight that comes through the window. Full moon tonight… maybe I should make a wish or something… no, it's not worth giving my life up over by staying here an extra few seconds for the Shinsengumi to march through the door. A few of the grunts I could take out, but if Saitou _and_ Okita are coming, I'd better not push my luck…

I put the mirror in the pocket inside my gi (alongside the money), and I leave without so much as a second glance… I'd stood enough of Takeda while he was still breathing, and he only smells worse as time goes on. I look to the clock again, and find that five minutes have passed. Strange… I don't usually take that long… probably was just due to the fact that the note was hidden amongst a variety of other slave things. No matter… the _guests_ haven't arrived yet, and _Sessha_ must be on his way to buy the sugar…

When I leave the mansion, the stars all seem to be veiled behind black clouds, threatening to rain… but the moon seems to pierce it like a knife. As I look down the walk, I see a group of men walking up. Their blue haori jackets give them away… the tall one in the lead is the party animal.

I lower my head and try to pass by without attracting much attention, but the Wolves of Mibu seldom let people pass without questioning.

"Stop," the man in the lead says. Saitou… I comply.

"State your name, and your purpose here."

I comply. "Minamino."

"That sounds like a surname, slave."

"Sessha cannot choose what his masters name him."

I said nothing false, so they had no reason to detain me. I smell of blood because Takeda-sama accidentally cut himself on a sword while exercising earlier, and I bandaged the wound and washed his clothes. I was leaving the premises because I was sent to a small store on the outside of Kyoto to pick up some sugar. No lies… they only get as much as they ask for, and the full truth isn't there.

Finally, after I answer all their questions, and show them the yen I was told to buy the sugar, they let me go. I walk quickly towards the gate, keeping the illusion that I'm in a hurry. As I pass the gates, I hear the screams, and a grin comes to my face, below twin eyes of gold.

Mission complete.

_To Be Continued…_

* * *

**Posted: June 11th, 2005**

I already said everything I needed to say in the first author note, but I'll make one last note here.

There are those of you who will argue that this story should be rated PG-13 (T), due to the high gore content of this chapter. However, I am writing to tell you otherwise, and that it fits in the PG-13 (T) category. In Japan, Rurouni Kenshin is rated 14 and older, and as you well know, there are scenes like this in the flashbacks to Kyoto. The difference between those and this is that, in the flashbacks, the actual wounds aren't shown… BUT, in Japan, the Samurai X OVA is also rated PG-13 (T) (whereas in America, it is rated R (M)). In Samurai X, they often show dead, mutilated bodies, and the actual deaths in process, as well as a host of uncensored curses. Therefore, keeping with those guidelines, this story fits within the PG-13 (T)range. If you are to offer a sound argument otherwise, and I believe you, then I shall offer an apology and a retraction, and move this story to the rated R (M) category.

With that said, I'll only ask you to leave a decent review.

Best/Dan


End file.
